I spoke with an employee who worked at an aviary which had a section just for butterflies (many, many years ago in my film days). She advised me that you need to start shooting very, very early in the morning because the cooler temperatures inhibited the butterflies movement. They don't like to fly until it's warmed up a bit. She also told me that if I sat patiently and very still in one spot that I could actually see that the butterflies did fly in a pattern. It's not engraved in stone, so to say, but after 30 to 40 minutes you will see the same butterfly land very close to the same spot regularly. I spent hours in that aviary and she was correct! This pattern flying might not work in the wild although I have a pair of Hummingbirds who seem to hit my feeder like clockwork in the summer. Now I need to dig out my old negatives and scan them!

Excellent insight! I may try this next time I meet some butterflies, an early morning start sounds fab!